1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

Gorgeous aromas, managing to capture this time of transition with a combination of peachy ripeness, serious depth, and curranty precision. The palate shows real concentration and grip – not tannic as such, but with real persistence and tenacity on the finish. Pivotal wine for Napa. (AH)

Wonderfully fine, evolved bouquet – great class with admirable freshness. Racy, vibrant, subtle. A really great wine than finishes dry (as opposed to sweet). A California classic. The Araujos' first vintage. In a way this wine was more like the 2007 than any of the intervening vintages I tasted. (JR)

The first release from the new owners of the famed Eisele Vineyard in northern Napa Valley is an unqualified success. I admired this wine from barrel and now that it is in the bottle, I find it even more exciting. This saturated dark purple-colored wine boasts a sensational bouquet of minerals and jammy cassis intertwined with subtle aromas of toasty oak and flowers. It possesses great extraction, superb balance and harmony, layers of flavor, and significant tannin in the long finish. This is an immensely impressive, beautifully balanced, large-scaled Cabernet that can be drunk with pleasure despite its high tannin and extract level. It will age effortlessly for 20+ years. Bravo! This great vineyard has produced some legendary California Cabernets - the 1974 Conn Creek, the single vineyard bottlings from Joseph Phelps in 1975, 1976 (when it was the dominant part of the blend for the Insignia bottling), 1978, 1984, and 1985. Tel. (707) 942-6061